Bill Text: NJ A953 | 2010-2011 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Requires development and distribution of curriculum guidelines on Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2010-01-12 - Introduced, Referred to Assembly Education Committee [A953 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2010-A953-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
214th LEGISLATURE
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2010 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman GORDON M. JOHNSON
District 37 (Bergen)
Assemblywoman ELEASE EVANS
District 35 (Bergen and Passaic)
SYNOPSIS
Requires development and distribution of curriculum guidelines on Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel
An Act concerning human rights education in the public schools and supplementing chapter 35 of Title 18A of the New Jersey Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. The Department of Education shall develop curriculum guidelines for the teaching of subject matter concerning and relating to the history, principles, and significance of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
b. The department shall make the curriculum guidelines available to all school districts in the State and shall encourage each district to incorporate the guidelines as part of the district's implementation of the Core Curriculum Content Standards in Social Studies.
2. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill requires the Department of Education to develop curriculum guidelines on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Curriculum guidelines will address the history, principles, and significance of the declaration. In addition, this bill requires the Department of Education to make the curriculum guidelines available to all school districts in the State and to encourage each district to incorporate the guidelines as part of the district's implementation of the Core Curriculum Content Standards in Social Studies.
Adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations in 1948, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is a powerful document that outlines human rights and fundamental freedoms. This groundbreaking document was the first of its kind to be adopted by an international organization. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights has inspired and continues to inspire diverse nations and international organizations, as is evidenced by the many laws, constitutions, charters, treaties, resolutions, and other documents that have been modeled upon its principles. For 57 years, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights has endured and resonated within legal and political communities, which cite its principles in their efforts to defend and advance human rights across the globe. The document has been translated into more than 300 languages and dialects. By including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in the curriculum of public schools, students will gain a necessary familiarity and respect for both the instrument and the fundamental principles that it sets forth.
